Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of Plant Organelles

Abstract

In plants three modes of inheritance {trattsmi1sion) of plumatlc organelles • plutlds and mitochondria - are found: (1) uniparontal maternal, (l) biparental and (3) uniparental paternal organelle Inheritance. The numerloal proportion of those thre~: modes of inheritance is veey different in varloua taxa of angiosperms, gymnosperms, yeutl and alpe. Resardlng the plutids, the majority of anglospenns exhibit the maternal mode, where~ In i)'IMC)jpetma the paternal or the biparental modes are prevailing. In Chlamydomonaa a matemallnhentance (via the tnt• 9arent) Ia !he nJie, but the blparentallllQde is an important exception, the frequency of whieh can ln•ely be lncreued experimentally. All !~)tee modes are found within all sroups of hisher taxa. Regarif!ng the mitochondria the three !!lOdes qf organelle inheritance are found In varying fi:cquencles anmns dlffilrent taxi!. 'l'he different kinds of Jx.perlmental procedures are characterized. 1'he determirtatlon what mode of organelle Inheritance Is found In a particular species needs careful observations and experimental studies.